Milwaukee has been leading the Heated Jacket Game since 2010 and we have seen a lot of advances over the years for more options and better equipped for the jobsite. Having had many conversations with their product managers in this category they really understand fabrics, design and what it takes to make great clothing at this point, no longer just throwing batteries and a couple of heating wires in a jacket. For the 2018/2019 Heated Gear Season we will see some incremental changes to what has worked, along with several new innovative items like Heated Gloves!
Milwaukee Heated Gloves Use RedLithium USB
Last year Milwaukee quietly launched a whole new battery platform with their USB charging Flashlight 2110-21, Headlamp 2111-21 and Flood Light 2112-21. These 3 new lights used the RedLithium USB batteries which are compact and can charge with just a standard USB cord (in car, on job, even from other M18 with power source) making them super portable and perfect for professionals. Of course they were not going to stop at lighting so we now get the Heated Gloves 561-21 using these same RedLithium USB batteries which claim up to 6 hours runtime.
Launching around August/September there are the first heated gloves specifically designed for tough jobsite applications able to stand on their own as work gloves with the GridIron Rip-Stop fabrics. They are not cheap however coming in around $180 price range which may limit the market and/or keep people from using them for work.
Milwaukee AXIS Mid-Layer Heated Jackets and Vests
One of the big issues with any of Milwaukee’s Heated Jackets is that a fair amount of the heat is lost to the outside of the garment. The Heated Hoodies were found to be much more effective at heating because when worn as a mid-layer with a heavy duty jacket overtop that trapped all the heat inside and pressed the hoodie closer to the skin. With this in mind Milwaukee created 4 new options (Men’s Jacket 203B, Men’s Vest 303B, Woman’s Jacket 233B, Women’s Vest 333B) that give the best of both worlds, they can be used as an outer-layer jacket or vest in mild temperatures.
Then when it gets colder throw your other jacket over (of course Milwaukee would hope that’s one of theirs like the GRIDIRON 245B Hooded) and all the heat will be trapped inside. These new AXIS Heated Mid-Layers are also ideal for use under Hi-Viz Bomber Jackets or Hi-Viz Rain Gear on the jobsite. Jackets will be around $170 bare or $220 with battery kit. The Axis Vests, which we like the best as they heat the body but still allow for the most arm movement, will be $120 bare or $170 with battery kit.
Milwaukee 2018 Updates on Jackets & Hoodies
As the Red Team gets better at doing what they do they are constantly addressing user feedback. We are glad to see the upgrade to the power sources for all the Heated Gear for 2018 and smaller details on fit with expanding mobility gussets, code named “FREEFLEX” so even the armpits can be trademarked. The new M12 Heated Jackets will hit in the August/September time frame as well and stay pretty much right on price with the similar 2017/2018 versions. New M12 Heated Hoodies will also be very similar and should be hitting the shelves around the same time.
More Info on all Milwaukee’s Apparel will be coming soon, as we saw at NPS18 they are also expanding the hats, Balaclavas and other non-heated gear. For more questions on Milwaukee Tools the team at Ohio Power Tool works hard to be able to address all you needs.